Chris Weidman (13-0) and Luke Rockhold (14-2) will take to the cage at UFC 194 this Saturday to determine who is the top dog at 185 pounds. The MGM Grand Garden Arena plays host to the phenomenal middleweight title tilt but also features two highly ranked middleweights.
No. 2-ranked contender Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (22-3, 1 no-contest) and No. 3-ranked Yoel Romero (10-1) meet on the main card.
The two fights are simply stellar, but when stepping back to look at the division as a whole, there is something very glaring. It’s old. Very old.
The champion and challenger at UFC 194 are in their prime (Weidman, the champion, is 31, as is Rockhold), but few else are in the same boat.
The co-main event participants both also have extensive wear and tear on their bodies from years and years of grappling. Before the 36-year-old Souza and the 38-year-old Romero made they transition to MMA, they were competing at elite levels, putting their bodies through rigorous training and matches. Neither man is a spring chicken.
Why is this an issue? It speaks to a larger problem the middleweight division has. Its biggest contenders and stars are aging.
The average age of the top 10 middleweights is 34, and that number is only brought down substantially by No. 8-ranked Robert Whittaker (15-4), who is 24. Everyone else in the division is 30 or older. This has to be concerning to the UFC. Where are the up-and-comers?
Jacare vs. Romero is a fight many fans are looking forward to, but looking down the line, it doesn’t appear that either man has a long future in this sport. It would be a marvel if either of them turned out to be a long-term champion. The UFC is in constant need of young stars, and other than Whittaker, there doesn’t appear to be any at 185 pounds.
It was a division ruled by Anderson Silva for nearly a decade, and as his dominance grew, so did interest in the weight class. The talent pool certainly deepened during his reign. Weidman has benefited from The Spider’s reign but still cannot break off into his own. In each of his four title defenses, including UFC 194, the UFC has paired him with another title tilt, including twice with Ronda Rousey.
The UFC continues to put Weidman, and the division as a whole, on a big stage. Given that one would have hoped that the division would have had an influx of interesting young fighters that were clear-cut, top-tier prospects. And that has not happened.
This may be a harsh realization because many of the aging fighters are fan favorites and still put on exciting performances. It’s a quality division on the whole. But there is no getting around the lack of prospects on their way up the ranks.
Enjoy UFC 194—it may be the last time you get to see two men in their physical prime compete for that title for some time. And that’s a shame because whoever comes out on top in the main event deserves to have athletes in their prime to defend their crown against each time out—and the fans deserve that too.
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